The Grand Prix went to “Inside Llewyn Davis,” the Coen brothers’ warmly received film set against New York’s 1960s folk-music scene.

Mexican helmer Amat Escalante received the directing prize for “Heli,” a tough drama about a family torn apart by drug-related gang violence.

Berenice Bejo took the actress prize for her performance as a Parisian woman seeking a divorce from her Iranian husband in Asghar Farhadi’s “The Past.” The last time Bejo appeared in a Cannes competition entry was in 2011 with “The Artist,” for which she later received an Oscar nomination.

Bruce Dern drew the actor kudo for his performance as an aging husband and father in Alexander Payne’s black-and-white road movie “Nebraska.”

Chinese writer-director Jia Zhangke was given the screenplay prize for “A Touch of Sin,” his four-part drama based on real-life episodes of violence in contempo China.

The Camera d’Or jury, headed by Agnes Varda, presented its prize for best first film to Singaporean helmer Anthony Chen’s “Ilo ilo,” which premiered in Directors’ Fortnight. Chen noted in his acceptance speech that his was the first pic from Singapore to receive an award in Cannes.

Before Sunday’s ceremony, the Un Certain Regard jury, headed by Thomas Vinterberg, gave its top award to “The Missing Picture,” Cambodian helmer Rithy Panh’s documentary account of his childhood under the Pol Pot regime, and a jury prize to “Omar,” helmer Hany Abu-Assad’s drama about young Palestinian men driven to violence.

Ryan Coogler’s first feature, “Fruitvale Station,” received a Future prize, adding to its two big wins at Sundance, while a directing award was presented to Gallic helmer Alain Guiraudie for his gay-cruising thriller “Stranger by the Lake,” acquired during the festival by Strand Releasing. Finally, the Un Certain Regard jury handed a special A Certain Talent award to the ensemble cast of “La jaula de oro,” an immigration thriller from Mexico-based Spanish helmer Diego Quemada-Diaz.

The big winner in the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar was “Me Myself and Mum,” Gallic actor-director Guillaume Gallienne’s comedy adapted from his own stage show; the pic won both the Art Cinema award and the Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers’ SACD prize, given to a French-language film. “The Selfish Giant,” British helmer Clio Barnard’s unconventional take on Oscar Wilde, received the Europa Cinemas Label for best European film.

Like Directors’ Fortnight, the Critics’ Week yielded a double winner: “Salvo,” a thriller from Italian directors Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza, which won both the Grand Prix and the Visionary prize in the sidebar. A special mention went to Argentinian entry “The Owners,” helmed by Agustin Toscano and Ezequiel Radusky, while Canadian director Sebastien Pilote’s farming drama “Le Demantelement” took the SACD prize for best screenplay.

Lotta movies to see! These are, as a group, undoubtedly much better than Hollywood’s potboilers. So, once again, vive la France for doing this, every year, for so many years and for true cinema lovers around the world. And here’s to indigenous cinema industries worldwide which rise above the crass, shallow, money-motivated Hollywood marketeers whose fondest wish is to drown them all out and leave the world with nothing but the cinematic equivalent of MacDonald’s.

Dear Spike,
VERY WELL SAID!
That is why we are launching RATED SR(tm) – Socially Relevant Film Festival New York in its downstate (NYC) and upstate (Rensslaerville) components of screenings and filmmakers lab for March 2014 to promote, propagate, distribute and offer a platform to films with relevant social content. LIKE us on FB and follow us on Twitter to be informed of further developments.
Submissions are now open at: info(at)pemart.org